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Game Recap: Council Rock South Advances in District One

May 25, 2017

By Greg Williams
Pennsylvania Director of Scouting

Council rock south 3, downingtown west 0

The old adage that pitching and defense wins playoff baseball games was in full display on Wednesday.  After disposing of cross town rival Council Rock North on Monday 10-2, No. 17 seed Council Rock South was rewarded with a trip to No. 1 seed Downingtown West in a District One Class 6A matchup with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals.

Drew BrittThe Golden Hawks jumped on junior right-hander Drew Britt for a first inning run when junior shortstop Matt Smith singled to lead off the inning and later scored on a ground out by John Crane.  Council Rock South utilized a sacrifice bunt to set up its first inning run and went back to the small ball in the second inning to extend the lead.  Following a leadoff single by Trey Obarowski and an error on a potential double play ball the Golden Hawks used a bunt, RBI ground out and a single from Smith to extend their lead to 3-0.

While Britt's fastball velocity (83-85) was down a few ticks from the last time we saw him in early May, the No. 35 ranked prospect in the PA Class of 2018 battled through the final five innings with a sharp curveball at 70-73 to register seven strikeouts and held Council Rock South scoreless the rest of the way.

Offense was in short supply for Downingtown West as junior Brenden Carter cruised through seven innings allowing just two hits and one hit batter in going the distance for the shutout win.  The 6-foot-3, 210-pound right-hander faced just one over the minimum through the first five innings thanks in part to a perfectly executed 5-4-3 double play that ended the 5th inning.

Carter faced his first and only test of the game in the 6th inning.  After hitting the first batter of the frame the Golden Hawks' defense, which had been flawless, committed back-to-back errors to load the bases with one out.  Carter got out of the jam with a 4-6-3 double play and worked a 1-2-3 7th inning to polish off his complete game effort.  

In addition to a fastball that sat 84-86 early and settled in at 83-84 for the majority of the game, Carter also utilized a slider and curveball mix to register seven strikeouts. 

With the win the Golden Hawks now advance to a Friday quarterfinal matchup with No. 8 seed Neshaminy with the winner securing a spot in the PIAA state tournament.  Downingtown West's season ended with the loss with a final record of 17-4. 

For complete playoff results and schedules statewide be sure to check our State Tournament Tracker and District Tournament Tracker daily.